Padres' 2013 WAR Leaders

PEORIA, Ariz.  If you're a traditionalist -- if you preach phrases like "five-tool player" or deify RBI totals, you might not want to hear this.

It's about the Padres' most valuable player from 2013, whose sleight-of-hand contributions subtly spiked his team's win total.

Was it Will Venable, the 22-home-run-smashing, defensive-dazzling centerfielder? No sir.

Was it Andrew Cashner, the four-seam fastballer who emerged as the Pads' clear ace by season's end? Sorry.

No, it turns out that San Diego's MVP from 2013 hit below .280, started only 105 times, and barely made seven figures after taxes.

His name is Chris Denorfia, the Italian-blooded outfielder who Padres fans owe a giant "grazie."

"He's as dependable and consistent as any player I've been around," said Venable of his 33-year-old teammate. "I tell him every spring that he's the only guy I know that has the same swing from the first time I saw him. Everyone changes a little bit. He has not changed a bit."

If baseball isn't quite your bag, here's a comparison that might help shed some light: Denorfia is the Padres' Danny Woodhead.

Like the Chargers' running back, "Deno" has a modest contract ($2.25 million this year) that mocks his actual value. And like Woodhead, Denorfia blends his in-game IQ with Rocky Balboa-effort to overcome his physical shortcomings.

Last year, Denorfia was selected as the Padres' "Heart and Hustle Award" recipient for his on-the-field vigor and off-the-field spirit. But while these types of honors typically go to Rudys of the world -- guys whose energy masks otherwise mediocre production -- the numbers suggest that Chris' bite was every bit as fierce as his bark.

Warning: geek-speak in 3...2...1...

The modern measuring stick of a ballplayer's worth is his Wins Above Replacement total, which, based on a formula incorporating all aspects of the game, is the estimated number of wins a player adds when compared to a hypothetical replacement player. It's not the kind of stat you'll see highlighted on a local telecast, but its accuracy, while not foolproof, is becoming more and more accepted as baseball's value barometer.

Well, guess who was tops in that category for San Diego last year? Yep, Mr. Denorfia, whose WAR was at 4.29. That's one more win than Venable, almost two more than Cashner, and plenty more than enough to prove he belongs in the Major Leagues.

"He could win on a championship team. He's a good player on a championship team," said Padres manager Bud Black. "It was a great pickup, no doubt about it."

Maybe the best pickup in years, actually.

Before Denorifa signed a minor-league contract with San Diego in December of 2009, he spent five years floundering in the Reds' and A's' organizations. He played 18 Major League games in 2005, 49 in 2006, zero in 2007, 29 in 2008, and four in 2009 before Oakland removed him from the 40-man roster.

Given his age (30) and track record (none) at the time, it seemed Denorfia's future was only visible with a thousand-watt lantern. This was not lost on him.

"I knew I was at a crossroads in my career. It was sort of a make-or-break time for me to establish that I could play in the Major Leagues and not be one of those 4A guys forever," said Denorfia, who got married just before signing with the Padres. "I was thinking about how I was going to support my family. Sometimes you can get lost in your own mind. It's a tough grind when you're in Triple-A, and at some point, I forgot to have fun. I just checked myself and started to enjoy it."

And soon enough, the Padres really started to enjoy him.

Denorfia's games-played total has increased every season -- starting at 99 in 2010, jumping to 111 the next year, 130 the year after that, and 144 last season, when he hit .279 with 10 home runs and 47 RBI. And his contributions have been equally substantial on defense (responsible for about 40 percent of his 2013 WAR), where he tied for fifth in the Majors last year with 13 assists while playing all three outfield positions.

"I'm thrilled," said Denorfia. "I'm thrilled at how lucky I was to find a good fit like this."

When you talk about the Padres' outfield, the names that typically come up are Carlos Quentin, Cameron Maybin, and Venable. Even the newly-acquired Seth Smith tends to trump Denorfia when depth is the topic